After the fact--A recap of Opening Doors to Success

When my alarm clock went off at 7:30 am on Saturday, the temptation was great to just hit snooze and spend a few more hours under the covers. Though not a college student any more, I have had a hard time making myself go to bed at a reasonable time and still tend to sleep late when the chance presents itself. So, it was quite difficult to get up but once I remembered the importance of what we were planning to do that morning, I stumbled out of bed and straight to the coffee maker to start the day.

This being my first experience with Graduate Greenville, I had no idea that so many people from the community and faces I recognized would be there. We met at Greenville High where there was a beautiful spread of breakfast foods and of course, coffee. I saw faces from the SC House of Representatives, United Way, the Greenville County School District, the Alliance for Quality Education, Greenville First, Michelin, and of course, Greenville Forward. There were many other groups represented as well but these were the ones I can remember at the moment.

After a brief training and orientation session, we were broken up into teams and given matching t-shirts and case folders for the students we were planning to visit that morning. I was quite excited to have the principal of Greenville High on my team because I am a little shy at first and figured the man who deals with high school students on a daily basis would be a great addition to our group.

We were given four students to visit who did not show up to school for the first week. Though we were only able to make contact with one, that experience strengthened my belief in the ability of this program to actually make a difference. The story behind this invidivual is confidential but I will provide a short glimpse into what the moment was like without revealing too much about his situation.

After briefing ourselves again on the student's age and information, we hopped out of our car and headed for the front door. I was very nervous and did not know what to expect. We were able to get a response after a few knocks and the student came to the door after a little coaxing from his sister. He was not interested in responding to our questions at first and did not even seem to want to speak to us at all. Shy and a little tongue tied--I watched from afar as the principal of Greenville High offered options for the student to finish his education.

A little while later, his mother also joined us in the conversation. She was very encouraging and supportive of our efforts, which I found to be a welcome surprise. I was worried that they would not want us to be visiting them at home and would be understandably protective of their space. However, her response was incredible and the moment that brought tears to my eyes was when she looked at her son and said, "These people have come to your door personally to help you because they are concerned about you and want you to succeed. You know you aren't going to get anywhere on the streets. It is your future, son. You are the one to make this choice." Her eyes swelled with tears as she looked up at her son and his tough exterior seemed to melt the hardened expression away into one of a young boy who is scared and a little lost.

His simple response of "OK" was enough to make us all want to jump for joy and his mother could not have looked happier. The principal met with him a little while longer to talk about arrangements and then we were on our way to make our next visit.

Though our team was only able to reach one student on Saturday, we were able to make a difference in one life and that in itself is a huge success. Our story was one of several success stories from the day that we hope will continue to stay in school and recognize their potential.